This invention relates to display devices and, more particularly to a hanger device for supporting neckties for display on a rack.
In department stores, menswear shops and the like, neckties are most often either displayed by laying the neckties out flat or by hanging the neckties on various types of stands, using, for example, plastic necktie hangers. Neckties that are laid out flat for display need near constant attention by store employees to keep the neckties orderly and in an attractive condition to facilitate sale. Neckties that are displayed on stands with the various necktie hangers on the market may also be easily removed from the hanger, which, again, creates display difficulties and maintenance issues. Here, neckties may be easily pulled from the hanger, requiring store employees to properly re-hang the neckties on the hangers.
Some neckties are hung and displayed in a knotted condition. However, neckties displayed in this manner require a fairly complicated procedure to hang the neckties on hangers. Additionally, unsightly wrinkling of the neckties may occur. It would be highly desirable to provide an inexpensive necktie hanger that keeps neckties in a neat and uniform folded position, even with substantial customer contact such that attention required by store employees is minimized.
Various necktie hangers are known which are intended for hanging neckties for display. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,951 (Gasser) is directed to a necktie display holder and blank which is used to display an individual necktie in a knotted condition. Two arms that protrude laterally from a front part are folded in toward each other and connected to each other to hold the necktie fast. The front part has a triangular cutout so the necktie and knot are visible. The two arms are provided with complementary incisions so that they can be interconnected to hold the display together.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,755 (Barylski) is directed to a necktie holder that is made of two pieces, including a one-piece sleeve and a one-piece retainer. The one piece sleeve is frusto-conical with a large diameter top and a smaller diameter bottom. A slot in the sleeve extends from the top to the bottom for receiving both ends of the necktie. A one-piece retainer, having an H-shaped cross section is placed in the slot to hold the necktie therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,351 (Najarian) is directed to a hanger for a pre-tied necktie assembly. The assembly includes a necktie, a knot support to form a necktie knot, a clip for removably mounting the necktie assembly onto the neckband of a shirt collar, and a positioning post extending through the necktie knot. The hanger includes an upper hook portion, a central body portion, and a lower stem portion. The stem portion has an opening therethrough to fit over the post of the necktie assembly whereby a retaining nut, when placed over the post with the stem portion positioned between the necktie and the nut, will securely maintain the necktie assembly on the hanger. Removal of the necktie assembly from the hanger is achieved by severing the stem portion from the body portion of the hanger.
U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 202,316 (Pehr) and Des. 342,613 (Ackerman) are necktie hangers, made from sheet material, that hold neckties in a folded condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,916 (Austin) is directed to a necktie assembly for use as a pre-tied necktie in which a reversible tie piece is held in place between interlocking front and rear tie-knot shells by a slide bar and a bar lock. The entire assembly is held around a user's neck by an adjustable band and a bracket provides a raised or lowered affect to the tie's knot.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,853 (Hodge) is directed to a display device for a pre-tied necktie that is made from a flexible sheet material that has an upper portion forming a hook and a main portion, wider than the hook, and depending from the hook. The main portion has two pointed tabs that simulate the tabs of a collar. A third tab that depends from the main portion between the simulated collar tabs is adapted to be flexed rearward and to receive through an aperture the holding tab of the holder on which the necktie is pre-tied. The holding tab engages the inside of a collar band to secure the holder and its necktie to the band. Therefore, the necktie holder is connected partly within the knot of the tie and partly behind the display device. The tie is displayed in a manner simulating actual use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,765 (Jossem) is directed to a support for suspending a combination tie and handkerchief set for display. The hanger is a cardboard blank formed in three sections, an end of which is folded between the other two sections. The end section has a straight upper edge, and a tongue at its outer end, which fits into a downwardly extending slot at the junction of the other sections to hold the straight edge of the first section horizontal. Another tongue on the other end section engages in a slot in the first section to hold the blank folded. A necktie and a handkerchief may be suspended over the upper edge of the first section. Hooks are formed at the upper edges of the other sections, which register when folded, for hanging the tie and handkerchief from a display rack.
Other patents are directed to hangers for garments other than neckties. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,386 (Rosen) is directed to a hanger device for supporting hosiery. A front panel has an upwardly extending hanger portion for releasable attachment to a companion support, and a rear panel composed of two releasably interlocked flaps extend from opposite edges of the front panel. The upper edge of the rear panel, formed by the interlocking flaps, supports hosiery so that the hosiery surrounds and depends from the rear panel. The hosiery depends from the rear panel so that a portion of the hosiery is below the front panel and thereby exposed to the eye of the customer.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,793 (Oakley) is directed to a package for hosiery that is a card having a body and a header adjacent to the body. The body is sized and shaped to receive the hosiery thereabout such that, when the hosiery is mounted on the body, the article conceals the body, but not the header.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.